


Anchoring

by CoupdeJarnac



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Awkward Sexual Situations, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, what do you mean neither of you have been with an alien
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-10-26 18:55:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10792734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoupdeJarnac/pseuds/CoupdeJarnac
Summary: Tiran is not sure when or why Sara stopped just being the Pathfinder to him and started being Sara, but as he sees the toll being Pathfinder takes on her he feels the need to reach out and comfort her, offering someone to talk to and to be an emotional anchor for her during everything. As time goes on he finds it increasingly difficult to keep things purely professional with Sara as he sees the vulnerable side of her that she is so desperate to keep hidden from her crew and the rest of the Initiative.





	1. Meet Me At the Bar

“Kandros, can you authorize me so I can use the security terminal again?”

Tiran looked up from the datapad he was mulling over to find the Pathfinder standing a few feet in front of him. She looked exhausted, though in all honesty she looked exhausted from the first time they met. Admittedly the first time he saw her it was not under the best circumstances, Ryder was still reeling from her father’s death and becoming Pathfinder, however even now she looked even more sleep deprived and distraught if possible.

“I gave you permanent authorization last time, remember? And you can just call me Tiran, last names are for people like Tann” he said gently.

“Yeah, it’s ringing a bell. And People like Tann? I thought you and Tann got along?” asked Sara.

“We play nice for the most part, and as a person I don't have anything against him, but he's not the sort of person I'd ever put in charge of anything”. Tiran shook his head, how a bookkeeper was deemed competent enough to lead the Initiative was beyond him, even if Tann was seventh in line for the position.

“Yeah, he can be a bit abrasive sometimes” Sara forced a smile before making a move to the security terminal across the way, “Thanks Tiran”.

“Stay safe, Pathfinder” called Tiran after Sara as she walked off.

“And you can call me Sara! Titles are for people like Tann!” Sara called back over her shoulder to Tiran.

Tiran could not help but smile, at least Sara was feeling alright enough to still make jokes.

* * *

“Back so soon, Sara?” Tiran asked as he watched Sara approach the little cubby of an ‘office’ Tann had given him with the promise he would move Tiran into a real office once the Nexus was up and running. That was seeming more and more like an empty promise with every day that passed.

“Yeah, just wanted to check on some things with the strike teams” she said, she looked like she had not slept in days.

Tiran felt his heart sink a bit seeing her looking so rundown. All of this Pathfinder business was too much to put on to someone so young. Too much for someone who inherited it after the death of a family member, someone who never received any formal training and was thrown into the chaos from the moment they woke up in Heleus.

“You know you can check the teams from the Tempest, right?” he asked. _Did I remember to tell her that?_ He wondered, second guessing himself.

“I know, but you know the teams better so I'd rather get your opinion on this stuff since you're the military guy” she said.

“Always glad to help. Anything in particular?” asked Tiran.

“There's a kett base on Voeld with some angaran prisoners, I was hoping you'd know which APEX team would be best for that” Sara was fidgeting with her nails. Her hands looked terrible, the nails were bitten down until they bled and the skin around her nails was torn up and mutilated from picking at it.

“Got any information besides ‘kett base’ for me to work with?” asked Tiran.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry. I've got the data downloaded to my omni tool, I'll upload it to the database here” she apologized. She seemed so far away, lost in whatever was going through her mind.

“Sara,” Tiran began, unsure whether he should be asking questions, “are you alright?”

“I'm fine, just a lot going on” she responded weakly.

“Just don't push yourself too hard” Tiran said, knowing Sara probably heard that from everyone but feeling the need to say it to her anyways.

“There'll be time to rest after all this is done, just let me know what team would be able to rescue those angaran prisoners” said Sara blankly.

“Of course, Pathfinder”.

* * *

“Pathfinder” nodded Tiran as Sara approached.

“Just ‘Sara’ is fine, I’d really rather just be Sara” she said.

She was looking worse if possible. She had dark rings under her eyes, something Tiran learned that meant humans were exhausted. She was leaning on the table heavily, as if she could not support her weight on her own and her entire being just seemed so far removed from the situation.

“What can I do for you today?” asked Tiran.

“Nothing, I just got done talking with Tann and Addison and I needed somewhere to think and cool down” said Sara.

“Why not head back to the Tempest then?” asked Tiran.

“Because then I'd actually have to do something about what Tann and Addison said and there's just so many things going on without them adding more” Sara said.

“They wouldn't ask for you to do things if they didn't think you could handle it” Tiran tried to reassure her.

“They can have all the fucking faith in me they want, it doesn't mean I can just magically do everything” Sara snapped.

“I know,” Tiran began gently. He had dealt with Tann and Addison piling things on from the moment he became militia leader, it was downright overwhelming when you were still figuring out your job. “One person can only do so much, but if there's anything I can do just let me know, alright?”

“Yeah,” Sara said, “thanks. Sorry for snapping at you. It's not your fault things are like this”.

“You're stressed, but you need to do something about that before you hit a breaking point” Tiran said, taking a step to close the gap between himself and Sara. “You need to find time to destress at least a bit, or just mull over things”.

“You're probably right” Sara admitted reluctantly.

“I am right”. Tiran look a deep breath, “How do you think I deal with everything without going crazy? I'm in a position that was made up after we realized the kett were here. I signed on to be Nexus security, not some sort of military commander. I'm just winging 80 percent of what I'm doing and trying to keep people safe and trying to stay sane”.

“It's sort of comforting to know that I'm not the only one stumbling through all this”. Sara smiled.

It was a real genuine smile, Tiran could not help but smile back. There was something beautiful in her smile, from her odd flat teeth to the way her lips curled upwards and her eyes got squinty, humans were an odd species though there was something charming in how expressive their faces were. “Hey, you know if you ever need anyone to just talk with you can always come talk to me. I may not be part of a Pathfinder team or anything, but maybe talking to someone outside of all that it what you need” Tiran offered.

“Thanks, but I don’t need to drag you into all this nonsense also” Sara said.

“Everyone needs someone to talk to, I know you’re probably talking about all this with your crew but sometimes it helps to talk to someone who isn’t involved in everything” said Tiran.

“Yeah, I know, but I’d feel bad dumping all my problems on everyone else, there’s no need to trouble my crew with everything that’s going on. They have enough going on without adding to the pile” admitted Sara.

 _She wasn’t talking to people about any of this,_ Tiran realized. No wonder she always looked so stressed and rundown.

“Then why not talk about things that aren’t going wrong. You made first contact with the angara and they didn’t shoot you, that’s pretty big” Tiran smiled, hoping to cheer Sara up.

“It could have gone better though” she mumbled.

“But all things considered, I think you did pretty well” Tiran said.

Sara flushed a bit, embarrassed from Tiran’s praise. “I mean not being eaten by a new alien species is pretty decent I guess. Maybe it would be nice just to talk with someone”.

“Well, I should be done here in about an hour. I was planning on swinging by the Vortex to grab a drink, join me?” Tiran asked.

“Sure, it’s on the way to the Tempest anyways” Sara said.

Tiran laughed, “ ‘It’s on the way to the Tempest anyways’ I’m inviting you to take a moment to breathe and chat, not turning you over to Tann, you don't have to sound so reluctant. If you don't want to, you don't have to, I'm not going to be offended”.

“I just feel like I don't have the time to be spending it just hanging out, there's so much to do still” she said.

“That's why I offered. You don't have to come, but I thought maybe it might help for you just to have some down time”.

“Yeah, I probably need that” Sara said.

“Well, if you want to go meet me here in an hour. No hard feelings if you don't show, I promise” Tiran smiled.

Sara did not stray far from the militia HQ, busying herself looking over the APEX missions and data pads of intel on kett movements for the next hour. Tiran noticed Sara watching him several times, or maybe moreso staring out into space in his general direction, or maybe trying to figure out what caused him to reach out and try to help. In all honestly, he saw something familiar in her situation: waking up in a new galaxy, realizing everything had gone wrong, and then being thrown into a position without any training. He sympathized with her and just did not want her to deal with everything alone like he had been, no one should be dealing with that alone.

Tiran was able work quickly and finish compiling the data they have on kett movements near outposts and send the information to the outpost leaders so they could change patrol routes and make the necessary fortifications. He looked over to where Sara was sitting, her face bathed in the glow from her omni tool as she flipped through screens on the interface.

“All set to go?” asked Tiran.

Sara dismissed the interface before moving to get up, “Whenever you are” she answered.

The two started on their way to the shuttle. Operations was relatively quiet and the lights had started to dim to signal the beginning of the night cycle for the station, casting shadows along Sara’s face and making her look even more exhausted.

“So, I heard you’ve got an angara on your crew now. How’s that?” he asked trying to break up the silence.

“Interesting to say the least. Jaal’s nice enough, though I’ve seen more of him than I ever cared to” she answered.

“That sounds like it wasn’t intentional” _how do you accidentally do that?_ Tiran wondered to himself as they boarded the shuttle to the loading docks.

“Oh believe me it wasn’t and boy was it a surprise. I’m the first human to see angaran dick for sure” Sara smirked.

“Sounds like there’s a story behind this” Tiran said.

“Well, a short story, I’m still not entirely sure what happened. Liam asked me to make some armor for him, I left Liam alone for a few minutes to go requisition it and I come back and Liam is shirtless, which was surprising in and of itself, then Jaal just walks in absolutely naked. That man stripped down in his room and then waltzed naked across my ship, then just left like that! I turned around when I heard Liam’s door open and there’s Jaal naked as could be right there! And neither Jaal nor Liam cared!” Sara giggled.

“Well, that’s um… surprising” Tiran stifled a laugh. “And you still don’t know what it was about?”

“Nope. The most I got from either of them was that they were trying to get to the bottom of things and get answers to the real questions. I haven’t asked why Liam needed to be shirtless and why Jaal was naked. There’s some things I just honestly don’t need answers to”.

The shuttle arrived at the loading dock. The lights had already been dimmed there too, bathing everything in a yellow glow from guide lights recessed in the floor.

“You know, I envy that you have a ship. When Tann gets annoying you can just fly off and ignore his calls. When I ignore him he just shows up in my office and makes a scene” Tiran said. “‘Kandros, you can’t just ignore my calls’  ‘Kandros, you need to submit every strike mission to me for approval’ ‘Kandros, I love making your job absolutely miserable’” Tiran mocked.

Sara hid a her giggle behind her hand, starting to relax as she just enjoyed chatting with someone.

“And here we are, the only place where Tann doesn’t bother me” Tiran said as they walked into the Vortex.

“Kandros!” called the asari bartender, “Not drinking alone this time?”

“Nope, I have the great honor of the Pathfinder joining me” he called back to her as he and Sara slid into a booth off to the side of the room.

“They seem to know you here” Sara said.

“Not to sound too cocky, but I think most people know me. I haven’t reached your level of fame yet though” Tiran said with a bit of a smile.

“Or maybe you just drink a lot” Sara teased.

“I only drink on days where Tann annoys me” he said.

“So everyday?” she asked.

“Most days” he admitted.

The bartender approached them carrying a drink, “I already know what you want” she said sitting the drink down in front Tiran, “And what’ll it be for the Pathfinder?”

“Um, what do you have?” asked Sara.

“It’s a bar, so most things. Though you’re the ‘I drink what someone hands me’ type aren’t you?” the bartender asked.

“Mostly, never really spent any times in bars or anything” Sara said.

“That’s alright, I’ve got you” the bartender said with a smile.

“Hey!” Tiran called to the bartender as she made her way back to the bar, “How do you know I didn’t want something different?”

“Because you’re the biggest creature of habit that I’ve ever seen. Except the one time you got dared to drink ryncol, now that was something” said the bartender.

“You drank ryncol?”asked Sara in disbelief. Why anyone who was not a krogan would drink it was entirely beyond her unless they had a death wish.

“Yeah, there was a krogan in here complaining and saying there was nothing good, everything here was too weak for him. He had a flask of ryncol with him and he was going on telling everyone that they couldn’t handle it and daring someone to try it, so I took a shot” Tiran said with a shrug.

“And you didn’t just pass out on the spot or anything?” asked Sara.

“No. It tasted terrible, don’t get me wrong I have no desire to drink it again, but I think krogans just like to hype it up” said Tiran.

Sara was smirking, something about that gave Tiran a warm feeling in his chest. He was thrilled to see her happy for even just a moment, just to be able to take a little of the stress off her for now felt so much more fulfilling than anything else he had done since waking up on the Nexus.

“And a drink for you” the bartender said as she returned, drink in hand. “Asari liquor and fruit juices, with a surprise”.

“Thanks” Sara said, taking the drink from her. The drink looked nice enough, it was a pink color and smelled like something between cranberry and mango, the surprise part concerned Sara though.

“Cheers” said Tiran, raising his glass.

Sara raised her own, clinking it against his before cautiously raising it to her lips to sip on it. It was sweet, almost sickeningly sweet, but that was not the surprise. Something in the drink had a menthol like quality, cooling her mouth and throat, which caused her to cough a bit in surprise.

“Any good?” Tiran asked.

“It’s different, but not bad” said Sara taking another sip of the drink.

“So” began Tiran, “what’s it like being able to travel and be able to see all these new planets?”

“It’s actually pretty cool,” Sara smiled, “when things aren’t shooting at you”.

Tiran snorted into his drink, “I think I miss things shooting at me. I’ve been cooped up here on the Nexus for too long. I signed up to guard colonists and expeditions, not to be buried under paperwork”.

“Couldn’t you have turned down the position?” asked Sara.

“Maybe, the Hierarchy always told us there was no shame on not taking a promotion if you feel like you couldn’t do it” Tiran paused, taking a drink and gathering his thoughts, “but I felt like I could do this and it turns out I can. Now I realize I just don’t want to do it. I know I’m doing what’s best, this is where I can help the most. Service over self, you know?”

A silence settled between them as they both sipped on their drinks. Sara never realized that Tiran had felt backed into his position too. That for as confident and at ease as he always seemed that he was sort of just floundering through everything doing a job that he did not want to do either.

“Hey Tiran, can I tell you something? And promise that you won’t be offended.” asked Sara.

“Of course” Tiran said.

“I always thought you were some old military lieutenant or something. Like you had all sorts of experience and you knew exactly what you were doing” Sara said.

“Old? I’m only a few years older than you” Tiran groaned, “Why does everyone think I’m like 40?”

“Probably because you act like like some old military commander” Sara grinned.

Tiran felt the same warmth in his chest from Sara grinning, even if it was at his expense. It was worth it to see her smile and relax.

“So if you’re not some grizzled old war vet, how old are you? If that’s not rude to ask” Sara asked.

“Twenty-six. I don’t even think Tann realizes that” Tiran answered.

“Look at us, a couple of kids put in charge of keeping people safe” Sara said between between sips of her drink.

“That’s alright, we’re figuring it out” Tiran said. He wanted to reach out and grab her hand, or at least a pat her on the shoulder, anything to reassure her that he had faith in her and would be there for her to talk to. Instead he resigned himself to a smile, hoping it carried the same sentiment.

The rest of their time was filled with idle chitchat, an equal mix of complaining about Tann and the bureaucracy of the Nexus, and the excitement of being in a new galaxy. Every time Sara talked about something new or interesting in Heleus that she found her face lit up in a wide smile, something Tiran was sure he could never be tired of seeing.

“Thanks for this Tiran” said Sara as she finished her drink.

“Anytime. Anytime you just want to talk let me know” Tiran felt the pleasant buzz from his drink start to set in, a low alcohol tolerance had its ups and downs. At least the bartender knowing what he liked to drink meant that Sara had not realized that he just had drank a double pour of straight up alcohol in thirty minutes.

“I should head back to the Tempest” Sara said a little disappointedly.

“I’ll walk with you” Tiran offered.

There were a few people watching them as they left the bar, but the Pathfinder and the militia leader talking was not particularly out of the ordinary. Had any of them been paying attention they would have noticed the slight way Tiran stumbled as he walked or the blue flush that had crept up his neck, but luckily the militia leader leaving a bit tipsy was also pretty unremarkable.

The walk to the Tempest dock was short and filled with a comfortable silence. Tiran did not know the last time he recalled feeling so calm. Maybe it was how quickly he finished his drink, maybe it was feeling like he made a difference in Sara’s day, either way he felt himself smiling the entire walk to the Tempest .

“I had a good time” Sara began as they reached the doors leading to the dock, “Maybe the next time I’m on the Nexus we can do it again”.

Tiran melted a bit seeing her smile wanting to chat with him again causing the blood rush to his face, making him incredibly happy that his plates would hide any blushing. “Of course, let me know when you’re free next”.

“And I’ve got the drinks next time” Sara grinned.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s on my tab, which links to the Initiative accounts, which Tann pays technically” Tiran said.

“Well, in that case we’ll let Tann pick up the drinks” Said Sara.

Tiran wanted to reach out and touch her, a hug or placing his hand on her shoulder, anything to show some closeness. He did not necessarily know why all of a sudden he wanted to close the gap between them, why after a few weeks of just seeing her as the Pathfinder somehow turned into him wanting to comfort her and get to know her. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was having the chance to talk to Sara instead of the Pathfinder, either way he was glad that Sara came with him tonight.

He reached out and gently placed his hand on Sara’s shoulder, hoping it would not be too intrusive on human standards. “Stay safe out there, Sara. I’m looking forward to the next time we can talk”.

“Hey, the kett haven’t killed me yet, have a little faith in me” Said said with a smile, “I’ll see you soon, I promise”.

Tiran smiled as he watched Sara disappear through the doors to the Tempest dock. _She looked happy,_ he thought to himself. He felt lighter than air as he strolled back to his apartment, thrilled the Sara felt comfortable enough to want to meet up with him and talk again.

* * *

 

“SAM?” Sara called out from where she had flopped onto her bed on the Tempest, “Any thoughts on Tiran?”

 _“What do you mean Pathfinder?”_ Came SAM’s voice echoing in her head, something Sara did not think she would ever get completely used to.

“I don’t know, did you pick up anything weird about him tonight? I mean we’ve talked a lot, but he’s never really shown any interest in getting to know me before tonight. Is that weird?” Sara asked SAM.

 _“I detected above normal heart rate and dilated pupils during your meeting with him, common signs of interest or distress in all known organic species. His actions seemed motivated by a concern for your well being and his physical reactions were a response each time you spoke, and when he touched your shoulder”_ Answered SAM.

“Okay, but what does that mean? Was he flirting with me?” asked Sara.

 _“Unknown. More information is needed before I can make a judgement”_ Said SAM.

“That was rhetorical, SAM” Said Sara.

_“Very well Pathfinder. Would you like me to monitor Kandros’s responses to you for future reference?” asked SAM._

“That’s not necessary SAM” she said.

_“Very well Pathfinder”._

_There’s no way he was flirting with me,_ Sara thought to herself, _he worried because I’m Pathfinder, he’s worried because he knows I’m dealing with the same sort of things he’s dealt with, just worse._

Regardless of rather Tiran was flirting or not it gave Sara a warm feeling in her chest knowing someone was concerned about her. In the back of her mind she knew the crew worried about her and was there for her too, that she could go to anyone on the Tempest and they would let her vent, but she could not bring herself to unload her fears on them. They were going through all of this with her, the last thing she wanted was to put more stress on them. Tiran felt different though, more like an anchor or rock that she might be able to really talk to.

 _There will be time to figure him out,_ Sara told herself before settling in for the night to sleep.


	2. Responsibilities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The weight of being Pathfinder is taking its toll on Sara and Tiran is determined to help her however he can, especially when he learns that Sara is not talking about any of her concerns with her crew.

_Meet me at the Vortex as soon as you can. -Sara_

The message came towards the end of the day. It had been a few days since the first time he and Sara went for drinks and Tiran had been waiting patiently to hear back from her. Something about it felt off to Tiran though, it was awfully direct and short. He quickly moved to finish dispatching the rest of the strike teams, eager to meet up with Sara.

It did not take long to reach the Vortex and Tiran spied Sara the moment the moment he entered the bar. She was sitting in the booth as last time, drink already in hand, and slumped forward a bit.

“Starting without me?” asked Tiran, something about Sara seemed off.

“Yeah, sorry. Trying to clear my head and I just really needed someone to talk to” she said weakly, her words slightly slurred.

“Well, here I am” he reassured her.

Sara took a slip of her drink, the same bright pink concoction from the last time by the look of it. “Do you ever just going into something and you know there's no way you can do it? And if you don't do it then everything is going to break apart?”

“Have you talked to your crew at all about this?” asked Tiran.

“Of course not! I'm supposed to be in charge and know what to do. There's no way I can tell them that I don't think there's any way this is going to work” Sara said. She was staring off into space, not focusing on anything in particular as she downed the last of her drink and signaled the bartender to bring another.

“Alright, well talk to me then” Tiran said. He waved the bartender away, letting her know that he was not drinking for now. “What's going on?”

“You know that vault we found on Eos? Well we tracked another vault on Aya I'm sure you know, but it's sealed” said Sara, she was staring down into her glass.

“Well, wasn't the one on Eos sealed too?” asked Tiran.

“The Aya was was sealed by the angara and the women who sealed it was taken by the kett” she said as she downed half her drink.

Tiran watched in concern as Sara slumped back into the booth, clearly unable to sit up straight anymore. There were a few people who had taken interest in the drunken Pathfinder, not good for Initiative morale.

“Alright, so you need to find this woman. Can I do anything to help? Send out strike teams to try to find where she's being held or anything?” Tiran offered.

“That's not it, we know where they're holding her”. Sara reached for her drink with some difficulty, nearly knocking it over in the process.

“Hey, maybe take it easy” Tiran said as he reached out to place his hand over hers to prevent her from getting to her drink. “So you know where she is, that's great, that's the hard part. You've dealt with the kett, all you have to do is exactly what you've been doing”.

“Yeah except this is a major base, well fortified, shielded. It's not some little outpost. And the angaran Resistance says they can crack the defenses, but it'll be a small window and only a small force can go in” said Sara, her voice slowly getting louder.

“Alright, so it's an extraction mission, you can do that. Keep a low profile, find where she is, get in and out quickly. Easy” said Tiran. He ran his thumb along the back of her hand, hoping to give her a little comfort.

“Yeah, just breech the largest known kett base, find the moshae without alerting the entire base, and then get out without getting killed. Yeah real fucking easy!” Sara had reached the point of raising her voice.

“How about instead of yelling I just sit closer so we can talk softly?” suggested Tiran, hoping to avoid a scene. Sara gave him a small nod and Tiran slid into the booth on Sara’s side. “Alright, I'm sure you've got people on your team that would know what to do? Like maybe don't bring Drack if you want to be quiet, but what about Jaal? He knows about the kett, he would be a lot of help. And Vetra? I've heard a lot about her, tech skills could help a lot. And then there's you. I think you're the strongest woman I know, I mean that. You figured out how to interface with remnant tech, you've been juggling all the bureaucratic nonsense, and I keep hearing about your gun and biotic skills. If anyone can do it, you can” he smiled.

Sara was staring down at her drink. “Thanks Tiran” she said in a small voice.

A comfortable silence settled between them. Sara was still sipping on her drink, though Tiran was happy that at least she was not guzzling it down anymore. He wanted to reach out and put his arm around Sara’s shoulder, just to give her a bit of comfort and reassurance.

Sara finished her drink and signaled the bartender to bring her another. As the bartender went to leave the table Tiran quickly pulled her aside to ask a question, “How many of those has she had?”

“Five? Pretty sure that makes five” the bartender replied.

_Five. Was that a lot for a human?_ Tiran wondered. He looked back over at Sara, her face was flushed pink and she was looking pretty rough.

“Alright. What else?” Tiran asked.

“What else?” repeated Sara.

“Look, there's more bothering you. You're on your fifth drink and apparently you're not talking to your crew. So what else is going on?” Tiran asked again.

“It's just a lot, you know? Like if I can't return the moshae then I can't get the vault to open, if I can't get the vault to open we can't track down whatever is that the heart of this vault network, if we can't find the heart of everything then chances are we won't be able to settle anywhere in Heleus. Not to mention the Resistance leader hates me and returning the Moshae is probably the only way to win over the angara’s trust” Sara was making quick work of her drink.

“It's a lot, but I think you're a bit drunk and that isn't helping you fears” Tiran said gently.

“I'm not drunk” she said with a slight slur.

“Okay, you're not drunk, but you don't look so good so maybe it's time to head back to the Tempest” suggested Tiran.

“I don't want to” grumbled Sara. She was slowly sliding down the booth, clearly rather drunk as all the drinks were hitting her.

“And why don't you want to? Wouldn't you rather go relax on the ship?” asked Tiran.

“I don't want to be Pathfinder” she said softly.

Tiran felt his mandibles go slack and his heart sink. He had figured that Sara was not enjoying being Pathfinder, but to hear it flat out that she did not want to be Pathfinder was an entirely different thing. Without even thinking Tiran reached out to wrap his arm around Sara’s shoulders and he felt her automatically lean into his hug.

“That's alright, you know that?” Tiran was amazed how small Sara felt leaning against him with his arm around her. “It's a lot to handle, I get that. And you can talk to me about it, I don't know if I can do much else to help, but I'm here for you”.

He heard Sara hiccup and let out a small sob.

“Hey, hey it's alright. But maybe it's time for you to go back to the Tempest? Try to get some rest because you're pretty drunk” said Tiran gently.

“I'm not going back” Sara slurred.

“I really think you should. Just go lay down and have some water. Maybe talk to your ship’s doctor because you look really red and I have no clue if that's normal for humans” he said.

“I'm not going!” Sara said loudly.

“I'll walk with you, it's alright” Tiran tired again.

“I'm not going with you!” Sara said even louder.

People were starting to look. _Shit, people are going to think I'm trying to kidnap her or something,_ Tiran worried.

“Okay, okay you don't have to go back to the Tempest, but maybe we should leave here” Tiran said quickly, trying to settle Sara down. “Let's just go for a walk and try to get you sobered up a bit”.

Sara seemed alright with this, allowing Tiran to help her stand up and stumble outside.

“Okay, maybe walking wasn't the best plan” Tiran mumbled as he half walked, half dragged Sara along. _Maybe I can just walk her to the ship and by the time she’s realizes she's on board someone can heard her back to her room,_ Tiran contemplated.

The Tempest was not too far, and Tiran managed to make it to make it about halfway there while keeping Sara occupied with small talk before she caught on to his plan.

“No!” she yelled. “I don't want to be Pathfinder! I'm don't want to!” She did her best to dig her heels in.

“Alright, I'm not going to make you get back on the ship” Tiran said a bit exasperated. He considered radioing the Tempest and having them just send someone to carry Sara yelling back to the ship. It would probably be for the best, but part of him felt like he would be betraying her trust also. “Do you want to sit on my couch and sober up?”

Sara was now barely awake and leaning her entire weight on him. She mumbled something incoherent into his chest.

“Alright so I think that was a yes” Tiran sighed.

It was getting harder to get Sara to walk and Tiran considered the option of carrying her, at least for going up the stairs. _How many weird looks could I possibly get?_ Wondered Tiran.

Every possible weird look. Tiran lifted up Sara, glad humans were pretty small since 600 years in cryo had not done him any favors, and began his ascent up the stair. In the end carrying her was just easier despite the weird looks from onlookers, he would just have explain everything later. Luckily it was not a far walk to his apartment.

Tiran carefully set Sara down, leaning her against the wall while juggling trying to keep her upright and working on getting the door open. “You know, you being dead weight really isn't helping” Tiran grumbled. Sara mumbled something incoherent as Tiran wrapped his arm around her and guided her inside and onto the couch.

_How do you take care of a drunk human?_ he wondered. Tiran brought up the interface on his omni tool and started to go through the info logs the Initiative had archived to see if there was anything to work with.

“Alright, water and sleep. At least that much is the same as turians” Tiran mumbled as he got some water for Sara. He sat on the couch next to her, she did not look too good. “Sara? You awake? I've got some water, you should probably try drinking something that isn't liquor” he said as he tried to offer her the cup.

Sara reached for it clumsily, nearly knocking the cup out of Tiran’s hand. “Careful” Tiran sighed as he helped Sara guide the cup to her lips so she could take a few sips.

She looked over at Tiran and smiled weakly, “Thanks”.

“Of course, can't have anything bad happening to our Pathfinder” joked Tiran.

“You're a good person, a good friend” slurred Sara.

“So are you. First friend I've made in Andromeda” Tiran said.

“I'm sorry” she muttered.

“For what?” asked Tiran.

“For all this” she waved her hand around vaguely. “And saying I didn't want to be Pathfinder”.

“It's alright. You're dealing with a lot” Tiran wrapped his arm around Sara’s shoulder, careful not to move or shake her on mistake.

“I really don't want to be Pathfinder though” Sara said quietly.

“That's alright too. You didn't ask for this, you don't have to embrace all the fanfare and be the big hero, just do whatever you and your SAM can, we’ll figure out the rest on this side” he hugged on to her a little tighter.

His heart gave a little flutter as he felt Sara lean against him. Maybe Sara just really needed someone to give her a hug and tell her things would be alright, maybe she really enjoyed his company, or maybe she was drunk enough where she would have been leaning on whatever he had set her down against. Regardless, Tiran would have been lying to himself if he said he did not enjoy it.

Five drinks was evidently too much for a human, or at least for Sara Tiran learned. After just a few minutes of sitting on the couch Sara began to scramble to get up off the couch and bolt to the bathroom.

“Sara? Are you-?” Tiran called as he got up to check on her.

She was sitting on the floor of his bathroom next to the toilet throwing up.

_Spirits. Was that normal for humans? Or really bad?_ Tiran panicked and pulled up his omni tool again to check the medical info the Initiative had archived.

“Okay, mild symptom of onset alcohol poisoning, very common, non threatening in most cases. Oh thank the spirits” he said out loud.

“Water” mumbled Sara, snapping Tiran out of his panic.

Tiran quickly headed back to the main room to fetch the glass of water he had gotten Sara and refilled it. He returned to the bathroom and sat down next to Sara, holding out the water for her.

“Thanks” she said as she reached for the glass. She rinsed her mouth out before taking a drink.

“Are you going to be alright?” asked Tiran cautiously.

“Yeah” she managed, still rather drunk and slurring but not looking quite as bad.

“Good. Turians throwing up is a really bad sign, like dying bad, apparently it's kind of normal for humans” he said.

“Well, not normal, it doesn't happen all the time, but I'm not dying” said Sara.

“Also good. I would have missed you had that been the case” he said.

“You're sweet, you know that?” Sara managed to say with a bit of a slur before she promptly started to throw up again.

Tiran gently pulled Sara’s hair away from her face and out of the way, it only seemed right. Sara continued for a few minutes, much to Tiran’s mild horror, making him glad that turians almost never threw up. He swapped to hold her hair back with one hand so he could rub her back a bit with the other, hoping he was helping.

He noticed Sara nodding off, starting to lean over to the point of nearly laying on the bathroom floor. “Hey hey hey, no sleeping on the bathroom floor. C’mon, back to the couch” he said as he lifted Sara off the bathroom floor. “And you're asleep” Tiran smiled a bit, at least she was not panicking anymore. He carried her to the couch and laid her down the best he could manage considering how small the couch was.

“Alright, as long as you don't move or roll ov- oh for fuck’s sake!” Tiran reached out to keep her from rolling off the couch. “You've got to be kidding me. Why?” he muttered. “Are you done moving or is this going to be an all night thing?”

Sara mumbled something in her sleep and rolled the other direction.

“Alright” Tiran sighed. He picked her up once more and carried her over into his room, he could sleep upright on the couch if need be, and it was worth it if it meant that Sara was not going to roll off the couch and get a concussion. He laid her down on his bed and took off her shoes, he was not sure if that made a difference in comfort when someone was passed out drunk but it seemed like the thing to do.

He heard her stir as he flipped the light off and left the room and he swore he heard her say something softly, he swore he heard her say his name.

* * *

 

Sara woke up. Her head was spinning and she felt sick at her stomach. “Where am I?” She muttered to herself as she pushed herself to sit up. “And what happened to my shoes?”

The room was dark and sparsely furnished, no more than just a bed and a desk from what she could tell. An odd, convex pillow sat at the head of the bed. “Turian pillow” she noted, meant to keep a fringe supported and from being damaged.

_Turian pillow, still clothed, alright. This could be worse, but where am I?_ She wondered as she tried to recall whatever happened that brought her to this point. _Getting the moshae, the kett base, the Vortex, Tiran. Tiran. This must be his apartment._ Sara decided. At least she knew she was somewhere safe.

She staggered a bit as she tried to stand, her vision blurring as she tried to balance and fight the urge to throw up. The walk to the door was the longest ten feet of her life, a slow shuffle while trying to stay upright. Sara pushed the door open and nearly fell through the doorframe. The room on the other side was dark also, but she could make out the silhouette of someone sitting on the couch.

“Tiran?” she called.

The silhouette on the couch moved “Oh, you're awake” came Tiran’s voice. “How are you feeling?” he asked as he got up to help Sara hobble over to the couch.

“Terrible, everything is spinning” she said.

“Yeah, I thought so. You had a lot to drink last night” he said.

“Sorry, I don't remember too much” Sara apologized, feeling rather guilty for whatever she had inevitably put Tiran through.

“That's alright, I'll figure out something to tell everyone” he said.

“Oh god, it was bad enough where you have to explain things to people” Sara grimaced.

“Pretty sure people thought I was abducting you” he said.

“I am so sorry Tiran” Sara apologized.

“It's alright, I'm just glad you're doing better” Tiran said with a smile.

“So what exactly did I do?” asked Sara.

“Refused to go back to the Tempest” he answered, “and yelling at me ‘I'm not going with you’ while we were at the Vortex when I was trying to walk you back to the Tempest. And I ended up having to carry you here”.

“Oh my god. I'm so so sorry” Sara apologized again. Bits and pieces were coming back to her. “Please tell me that’s the end of it”.

“Pretty much. I brought you  back here, sat you on the couch, I got you some water, we had a nice little chat, you threw up a bit which is by the way horrifying since turians only throw up if they’re essentially on the verge of death, you passed out and kept nearly rolling off the couch so I just put you in my room” Tiran said.

“Thanks for taking care of me, but why didn’t you just call the Tempest to have someone pick me up?” asked Sara.

“I thought about it, but it didn’t feel right. You asked me not to take you back to the ship and I sort of felt like I’d be betraying your trust or something if I went behind your back and called someone to get you" Tiran shrugged.

“I didn’t say anything too embarrassing, did I?” asked Sara cautiously.

“Nah, we just had a little heart to heart about you not wanting to be Pathfinder” he said.

“Did that at least go alright?” Sara asked.

“Well, you calmed down afterwards, so I’d like to think it went alright” he said as he draped his arm around Sara’s shoulders again, it seemed to work last night to give her a bit of comfort so why not try again? “It’s going to be alright, you know? With the woman the angara want you to retrieve you’re not really doing anything you haven’t done before. You’re a strong woman, I know you can do this”.

Sara leaned against Tiran a bit to keep herself from swaying so much as she focused on not throwing up, though there was also something deeply reassuring between his words and his presence. “Thanks for everything. You’re a good man Tiran”.

“Anything to help, you deserve that much” he said.

Sara started dozing off again, slowly leaning more and more of her weight on him until she was completely laying against him. She looked so peaceful as fell back asleep, so small and fragile.

“If you’re tired you can go back to  my room and sleep until morning” Tiran said softly.

Sara yawned and wiped at her eyes, trying to fight off her tiredness “It’s alright, I don’t want to kick you out of your room”.

“It’s alright, I could probably sleep standing up if I really wanted to, turian military” he grimaced.

“Are you sure? I guess I could head back to the Tempest too” Sara said.

“It’s really late, plus you look exhausted. Just stay here, I’ve got the couch so don’t worry” he said with a smile.

“Thanks” she said as she pushed herself up off the couch, “You’re very sweet, you know that?”

“I did actually, you told me last night between throwing up” Tiran smirked.

“Charming” she said with a grimace, thankful that Tiran did not seem to be bothered by all this. “Good night Tiran”.

“Sleep well Sara”

* * *

 

Sara woke up once more in Tiran’s room, though this time feeling much better and actually aware of where she was. It was bizarrely refreshing to wake up in an actual apartment and not on the ship, or maybe she just felt good because she had been able to get a lot off her chest last night regardless of how much she actually remembered.

Tiran was already awake by the time Sara made her way out into the main room. It was a bit jarring to see him out of his armor and just in his undersuit. He was a lot less bulky than he looked in the armor, his limbs were much slimmer, his chest and shoulders were not quite as broad, though he still easily cleared seven feet tall.

“Morning Sara” he called from the little kitchen. “I've got coffee, it's dextro. If you're not dextro sensitive you're welcome to it”.

“That's alright, dextro doesn't do good things for levo people” Sara replied.

“Only if you have a sensitivity to it” he said as he mulled about the kitchen.

“Oh, I was always told it causes allergic reaction” she said.

“Only if you're sensitive to it. I'm not levo sensitive, how did you think I drank ryncol without dying?” he asked.

“Didn't cross my mind, I was more concerned that someone willingly drank ryncol” Sara teased. She was not even sure if ryncol was levo or dextro or which the krogan were for that matter.

“It's more common for people who are dextro to have a levo sensitivity, otherwise it's just nutritionally void” he explained. “You know, your ship’s doctor would be able to test if you’re dextro sensitive and to what degree. It’s just nice to know if you're going to die or not from eating something on mistake”.

“Might be worth looking into” she said. “I really should get going now, I'm sure the crew is concerned that I didn't come back last night”.

“I hope you don't mind, but I did send a message to the ship last night to let them know that you were safe and just staying over here” he said, “Kallo sent a message back saying he'd tell the crew not to worry”.

“Well, that's good at least. I'm sure I'll never hear the end of it from them though” she said.

“Let me walk you back to the ship” Tiran offered, sitting his coffee down on the counter. “Just give me few minutes to get my armor on, don't really want to wander around like this”.

“That's alright, you don't have to. I feel like I've put you out enough already without disrupting your breakfast too. Plus I'm already going to get a lot of questions from the crew without you walking me back” Sara said, feeling a bit bad for turning down his offer. He was just trying to be polite, but she had a feeling that Peebee and Liam were not going to let her sleeping at Tiran’s just go.

“If you say so. I left your shoes by the door” he said.

“Thanks for everything. I feel a lot better now” Sara said. She sat down next to the door and began working on getting her shoes back on.

“I'm glad I could help. Let me know if there's anything you need ever, I'll do my best to help” Tiran smiled.

Sara smiled back. Tiran was a good man, he wanted to help people whether that was as militia leader or just as Tiran.

“Oh, and Sara,” he began as Sara went to leave, “next time you want to get drunk how about you save me a step and some weird looks and just drink over here?”

“Fair enough, we’ll celebrate when I get the moshae back. How does that sound?” Sara asked with a big grin.

“Sounds good to me, I'll see what I can do about getting some booze” Tiran smirked. “Get back to your crew before they blame me for holding you up for too long”.

“I'll see you soon Tiran” she said.

“Stay safe out there, Sara” he said as the door closed behind Sara.


	3. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara takes Tiran up on his offer to drink at his place, and while it's everything she had been needing it's not what she wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's chapter length consistency?

Luckily no one was in the cargo bay when Sara boarded the ship on her way back from Tiran’s and she was quickly able to make it to her quarters before anyone could flag her down.  _ Maybe no one would say anything or care,  _ Sara hoped. What she did in her spare time was none of their business, but it did not mean that they would not pry.

_ I should shower, walking around the ship like a hot mess does not give the best impression,  _ Sara figured. Her clothes and skin smelled like Tiran, or his apartment at least. It was pleasant, a clean smell with undertones of spiced herbs she did not recognize, probably things native to Palaven. Though the last thing she needed was Vetra or Jaal to pick up on her smelling like him, sometimes crewmates with a keen sense of smell could be an issue.

“Hey SAM?” Sara called out as she undressed and got ready to take her shower. “I know I told you not to monitor Tiran’s responses when you asked me the other day, but did you notice anything different about him yesterday?”

_ “Negative, Pathfinder. Kandros’s responses to you were the same as the last time, no new data to report”  _ came SAM’s voice echoing in her head.

“Maybe he's just always helpful like that. He is the militia leader after all, and the whole service over self turian thing” Sara mused.

“ _ Unlikely. His personal record shows that he avoids getting involved in non-militia affairs. His actions seem to be motivated more by a personal concern for your well being”  _ came SAM’s voice again.

“Well, that doesn't mean much. I'm the Pathfinder, a lot of people seem concerned about my well being” Sara snapped at SAM automatically. “Sorry,” she quickly apologized, “you were just answering my questions”.

“ _ I took no offense, Pathfinder _ ” replied SAM.

“Thanks for trying, SAM. I'll just have to figure things out for myself I think” she said.

“ _ Of course, Pathfinder”  _ SAM said before fading back into the background.

Her shower was quick, more of a half assed scrub down before making an appearance with her crew to shut down are gossip that had likely sprung up.

_ I really should check in with Lexi to see if she can test me for dextro sensitivity,  _ Sara thought as she quickly dried herself off and put on some fresh clothes.  _ What if all this time I've been extremely dextro sensitive and I've been just skating by on luck? _

Having Lexi run whatever necessary tests was probably the best option she decided. Sara made her way down the hall to the med bay, at least she could count on Lexi to be discrete.

The med bay doors opened with a soft  _ woosh  _ and Sara stepped through the threshold, “Hey Lexi? Could you run a dextro sensitivity check for me? I figure- fuck”.

Peebee was sitting on the exam table with Lexi treating her arm for what looked like some minor chemical burns. “Staying with Kandros and now asking about dextro sensitivity? Well you can't be that sensitive since you didn't die last night” teased Peebee.

“Nothing happened” snapped Sara.

“Ahhhh, so you want to know for next time. Dying does tend to kill the mood” said Peebee.

“No! Just in general it's probably a good idea to know so I'm not taken out by rogue food” hissed Sara.

“Whatever you say” smiled Peebee as she rolled down her sleeve and hopped off the table. “Just keep in mind that turian plates can really chaff thighs, I've learned that the hard way. But I'm sure the good doctor here could get you some antichaffing cream. Safe sex and all that, y’know?” she said as she left the med bay.

“Lexi I swear that's not what this is about” Sara began, trying to squash any gossip before it took root.

“Ryder, it’s none of my business what you're doing in your spare time as long as you're not jeopardizing our mission. And I do have antichaffing cream if you need” said Lexi.

“I'm not sleeping with Kandros, we’re not a thing or anything, I promise” said Sara.

“You don't need to convince me, if that's what you say then that's what I believe” Lexi said gently. “Now for the dextro sensitivity test I just need a blood sample and a few minutes and I can let you know”.

“Thanks Lexi” said Sara.

“Of course. Now sit down, sleeve up and arm out, I need blood” said Lexi.

There was a time in Sara’s life where drawing blood would have made her pass out from panic, but luckily all the poking and prodding that came with joining the Initiative had desensitized her to needles finally.

“And all set,” Lexi said as she placed a cotton ball and bandage on Sara’s arm. “Give me a few minutes to run the test, you can just wait here if you'd like”.

_ At least Lexi is on my side,  _ Sara thought as she watched Lexi busy herself with her instruments.

Time passed quickly enough, then again Lexi said it was it was only going to be a few minutes anyways.

“Well the good news is that you can’t be assassinated by someone swapping your food. You have zero dextro sensitivity” said Lexi with a smile.

“And the bad news?” asked Sara.

“What bad news?” asked Lexi.

“Well you said the good news was that I'm not dextro sensitive, when you start off a sentence with ‘the good news is’ people usually assume that there's bad news after” explained Sara.

“Must be a human thing” shrugged Lexi. “Anyway you're free to go, just let me know if you need anything else”.

“Thanks Lexi” Sara said as she made her way out of the med bay.  _ Alright, so Peebee definitely thinks I'm sleeping with Tiran, but if I can explain things before she spreads any gossip I can put an end to this,  _ Sara figured.

Sara ducked into the cargo bay, best way to  _ casually  _ mention to as many people as possible what had actually happened.

She heard Peebee call down to her from the upper level of the cargo bay. “So all safe to continue with your new boyfriend?” she teased.

“It's not like that!” Sara yelled back a bit more defensively than she would have liked.

“And so our Pathfinder is back from her night out on the town” came Liam’s voice from behind her as he emerged from his room to see what all the commotion was about. “So turians are your type. You know Peebee and I had a bet going about who’s your type? I said definitely asari because who doesn't think they're beautiful and Peebee said that you'd stick with humans, so neither of us won that one”.

“Liam. Stop talking. Nothing happened with me and Kandros, we’re not a thing or anything. Just friends” Sara said.

“Alright, no need to get defensive. If that's what you say then I believe you” Liam shrugged.

“Thank you, Liam” Sara said as she short a glance at Peebee.

“What?” exclaimed Peebee. “All the evidence added up. You said you were meeting someone at the Vortex, then Kandros sent a message that you were staying at his place, then you show up here just coincidentally asking about dextro sensitivity tests. You can't blame me for drawing conclusions” she shrugged.

“You didn't draw conclusions, you jumped to conclusions” snapped Sara.

“Woah woah woah,” said Liam, tossing his hands up, “there's no need to get hostile. No harm done so no need to get upset. Either of you”.

Sara took a deep breath, Liam was right. No one honestly seemed to care about what she did last night and they were believing her so far that she and Tiran were not together or anything. “So that settles it, nothing happened last night and they're won't be gossip from you two?”

“No” they both answered in unison. At least the brunt of any gossip was probably stopped.

“Okay, good talk, team” Sara said awkwardly as she went to leave, hoping that this was the last conversation about her nonexistent sex life she would have to have.

* * *

 

_ About two hours out from Voeld and that kett base. If I live though this I'm definitely taking you up on that drink- Sara. _

_ You'll be fine, just focus on this mission ahead of you. I don't know much about levo or human booze, so I hope you like rum because that's what I got a hold of- Tiran. _

_ Rum is fine. I'm going to go over things with the crew and ground team. I'll let you know when things are settled- Sara. _

_ Stay safe, Sara- Tiran _

* * *

 

“What do you mean you left that kett facility operational?” Snarled Evfra, a little too close for comfort for Sara.

“It was either blow it up and kill the angaran prisoners or save your people!” Sara said back, making sure to get in his face too.

Evfra took a deep breath. “Did it not occur to you after everything you saw that you'd be saving more lives if you just destroyed that facility?”

“In Retrospect, yes, and the moshae did mention it but Jaal-” Sara began.

“Is a lieutenant, and a good one, but he does not give orders. You have my thanks for returning the moshae, but next time think about your actions” Evfra said coldly before turning back to whatever he had been working on before Sara had entered his office.

Sara took a deep breath as she exited the Resistance base.  _ It’s alright, your job was to get the moshae, that’s it, you did that. Evfra can be mad if he wants but you did what you went there to do,  _ Sara told herself, trying to stifle her annoyance at Evfra.

“Sara!” came Jaal’s voice from across the courtyard, “I'm sorry I did not go with you to talk to Evfra, I wanted to get the moshae settled in at the Repository”.

“That's alright, Evfra’s mad that I didn't blow up that kett base, and we probably should have, but what's done is done I suppose” said Sara.

“I'm sorry. You should have listened to the moshae and not me, it's my fault” Jaal said with a frown.

“I listened to you because you're my friend, your input on things means a lot, so don't worry about it” she said with a smile.

They walked in silence as they made their way back to the ship. Normally Sara would have loved to have dragged out her stay on Aya, but right then she just wanted some distance from Evfra.

“Sara,” began Jaal, “I don't know if this is too personal to ask, but are you and Kandros involved?”

“Who did you hear that from?” asked Sara much more defensively than she had intended to sound.

“Well, the other day Kallo got a message from Kandros saying you were spending the night with him, and I know you have gone to have drinks with him, it just seemed as if you two were close” he said.

“We’re just friends. I had a bit too much to drink and I didn't want to go back to the ship so he let me stay over at his place” Sara explained.

“Ahh, so that's it. He seems to be a good man. I'm glad you have him in your life” Jaal said.

“Me too” she smiled.

Sara parted ways with Jaal as they boarded the ship and she headed straight back to her cabin glad to have the chance to finally relax.

“SAM, tell Kallo to set a path for the Nexus” Sara called as she readied herself for a much deserved shower.

“ _ Right away, Pathfinder”  _ echoed SAM’s voice.

Sara quickly paused what she was doing to let Tiran know the news.

_ Hey, guess who isn’t dead?- Sara _

She got a response back near instantly.

_ I'm going to guess you, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong- Tiran. _

_ We’re en route to the Nexus, but it'll still be a few hours, I'll be there around this evening. Good for drinks tonight? I could use one after dealing with everything- Sara. _

_ I promised we’d celebrate you not dying. Let me know when you're on the Nexus- Tiran. _

_ Will do. I'll see you in a few hours- Sara. _

_ I'm looking forward to it- Tiran. _

Sara returned to shimmying out of her clothes and into the shower. She had changed out of her armor on the flight from Voeld to Aya, but the layers of sweat, grime, and kett blood were still there. The shower seemed to wash away more than just the grime, Sara felt all the concerns she had about the mission pooling at her feet and mingling with the blood and dirt before disappearing down the drain. It took several scrub downs before Sara truly felt like she was clean, something that had become normal after missions.

The air outside of the shower was considerably colder as Sara stepped out and quickly got dressed.

“SAM, ETA to the Nexus?” asked Sara as she yanked her hoodie over her head.

“ _ Approximately 5 hours and 32 minutes barring any difficulties, Pathfinder _ ” SAM answered.

“Good. If anyone is looking for me tell them I'm sleeping, and no one comes in here or wakes me up unless it's a life or death issue. Okay?” said Sara.

“ _ Understood”  _ answered SAM.

“Oh, and wake me when we get to the Nexus” Sara added.

“ _ Understood, would you like me to adjust your melatonin levels to help you fall asleep? _ ” SAM asked.

“Not now, but if I'm not asleep in 20 minutes go for it” Sara still found it weird that SAM could change her physiology, but it was slowly getting less weird as time went on at least.

“ _ Anything else, Pathfinder?”  _ asked SAM.

“That's it” she said.

The night before she had been plagued by nightmares of failure and had barely slept, between that and the mission in general it was easy to fall asleep this time though. It was a deep and dreamless sleep that left her feeling better than she had in days when SAM woke her a few hours later as they approached the Nexus.

“ _ Docking in 15 minutes, Pathfinder _ ” SAM said, gently waking Sara up from her nap.

Sara rolled over and wormed her way out from under her blanket. “Thanks SAM” she said as she gathered her hair up into a loose ponytail, “How is the rest of the crew doing? Any issues?”

“ _ Not that I’m aware of, Pathfinder _ ” SAM answered.

“Thanks, have you seen my shoes?” asked Sara.

“ _ I believe you left them in the bathroom _ ” SAM answered again.

“Thanks SAM, don’t know what I’d do without you” joked Sara as she retrieved her shoes and slipped them on.

“ _ You’d be barefoot a lot more often _ ” SAM said.

“Was that a joke? You can make jokes?” asked Sara, surprised by SAM’s quip.

_ “Your father was trying to integrate a humor database in my programming before the Initiative left for Andromeda. It was not completed, though I have had the chance to add to it based on interactions with the crew _ ” responded SAM.

“Good for you SAM, a sense of humor will be good for you” Sara smirked.

“ _ Thank you. I believe it will aide in communicating with the crew _ ” said SAM.

Sara gave herself a once over in the mirror, making sure she did not look like a disaster before she headed to the Nexus. “If anyone asks where I am just let them know I’ll be back later, or in the morning”.

“ _ Of course Pathfinder _ ” said SAM.

Sara made her way to the cargo bay, hoping not to run into anyone on her way. She figured that everyone would know where she was going, but she did not trust them not to hassle her. Luckily the only person she passed on the way was Drack, who really could not care less as to where she was going.

_ Heading onto the Nexus now. Met at militia HQ or your place?- Sara,  _ she sent to Tiran.

_ HQ. I need a little time to finish this up and I don’t want to make up just wait in front of my place- Tiran. _

_ No problem, see you in a few minutes- Sara. _

_ Looking forward to it- Tiran. _

There was smile on her face as she waited for the shuttle to Operations. She was not entirely sure exactly why she enjoyed hanging out with Tiran, but she could not wait to see him. The shuttle ride was pretty quick, there were a few people on board with her who smiled at looked at her with curiosity, but much to Sara’s pleasure no one tried to make any conversation.

A few minutes later she was standing at the entrance to Operations. The constant buzz of Operations filled her ears; Nexus security checking in with each other, people fresh out of stasis wandering around and exploring in wonder, and all the general chatter involved with getting the station running.

“Tiran!” Sara called with a wave as she approached his office, oblivious to the weird looks she was getting. “Look who’s alive and in one piece” she smiled.

“Glad to see it” he said, returning her smile. “Just give me a few minutes to finish this up and we can head over”.

“Take your time. I’ll just be over here” she said, taking a seat off to the side.

Tiran finished up quickly. He seemed not to notice the odd looks he was getting after Sara’s enthusiastic greeting. No one called him by his first name, especially while he was at work, and let alone someone so high ranked, but it was not like anyone was going to actually going to bring it up.

“Ready to go?” asked Tiran.

“Done already? That was fast” said Sara.

“Yeah, you timed things pretty well. C’mon, I promised you a drink” he held out his hand to help her up. It was nice to be close to her.

They made their way back to the shuttle, smiling and chatting and making small talk as they went. Tiran talked about the new APEX teams he had assembled, and the modifications to Nexus security, anything he could think of for the moment. It was a quick trip back to Tiran’s apartment in the residential area of the docking bay, a few people watched curiously as the Pathfinder and the militia leader headed back to the apartments.

“And here we are, again” said Tiran as he open the door to his apartment. “I suppose I really didn’t show you around last time, but in my defense you were horribly drunk and I had to carry you here”.

“I’m still really sorry about that” apologized Sara.

“That’s alright, and that’s why we’re skipping a few steps and just drinking here so I don’t have to haul you here or to your ship drunk” Tiran teased. “So there’s not much here, kitchen is there” he gestured to the little kitchen on to the left, “living room, my room, bathroom” he rattled off as he pointed around his apartment. “Go ahead a take a seat, make yourself at home while I grab the drinks”.

Sara kicked off her shoes at the door and sat down own the couch with her legs curled under her. Tiran’s place was small, and rather bare, but it must be nice to have a place of his own Sara figured. She loved the Tempest, but with the exception of her cabin it was not very private.

“And here we go” Tiran said as he sat two glasses and two bottles down on the table in front of the couch, “Rum for you and saarof for me. And just give me one more minute, I’d rather not be in armor in my own apartment” he said as he made his way to his room.

A few minutes later he emerged in his undersuit, like how Sara had seen him when she stayed over after her drunken adventure. He did not lose any height outside of the armor, but Sara was still surprised just how much less bulky turians actually were. He was surprisingly slim, but well muscled like most turians were, lots of straight lines and sharp angles, very interesting to look at.

He sat down on the couch next to her and began pouring himself a drink, just straight up liquor, before settling back into the couch and relaxing. Sara followed suit, pouring a bit of the rum into her glass and taking a sip. It felt like fire in her mouth and throat, causing her to cough as she tried to swallow it.

“You alright?” Tiran asked, looking concerned.

“Yeah” Sara managed between a few coughs, “Not really used to just alcohol”.

“Shit, sorry. Should have probably picked up something to mix it with too” he apologized, “I can run and get something if you want”.

“That’s alright, I can managed” she smiled.

“Want some water to dilute it a bit at least then?” he offered.

“Do people do that?” asked Sara.

“Sometimes. It won’t burn so bad at least” he said as he got up and headed for the kitchen. He came back with a glass of water, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to judge you for mixing in water” he smiled.

“Thanks” she said, reaching for the glass and pouring some of the water into her rum. It still burned a bit to drink, but nothing like before at least.

“Better?” asked Tiran.

“Yeah” she answered.

“You know you don’t have to drink if you don’t want to” he said.

“I know, but after the last few days I’ve had I really need a drink” she said.

“Why don’t you tell me about it now that there’s not people around to scare with the glorious life of the Pathfinder” he said as he took a sip of his drink.

“It’s just been a lot, you know? Luckily everything ended up alright in the end, the moshae is safe back on Aya and all, but there’s a lot going on with the kett that we would have never guessed” Sara said, she paused to take a long drink of her watered down rum, “the kett are turning angara into kett” she finished glumly.

“What? How?”asked Tiran, sounding rathered panicked.

“I don’t know exactly, something they call exaltation. They say it’s a ‘gift’, that they’re raising up the angara to their level. It’s horrifying” Sara quickly finished her drink, feeling the warmth from it go to her face a bit, “they wanted to exalt the moshae, that’s why they had her. They wanted what she knew about the remnant”.

“Damn” Tiran let out a low whistle and downed the rest of his drink.

“Jaal wasn’t alright after all that. At the base he was a mess. They exalted an angara in front of him and he was screaming so loudly, he wanted to save the angara but it immediately turned on us and tried to kill us, so we had to kill it. He was just in such a daze afterwards, and it got worse on the ship, I guess it really sank in then, that a lot of the kett they had been killing were angara at one point” Sara recounted.

“I- wow, the kett can-? Fuck” Tiran stammered out.

“Yeah, it’s pretty fucked up” Sara poured herself some more rum, anything to numb out a bit of what happened.

“Did you destroy the base, or at least whatever the kett were using to exalt the angara?” asked Tiran as he poured himself another drink.

“The moshae wanted me to, but Jaal was pleading to free the angara there first, and there wasn’t enough time for both, so we freed the prisoners and got out before reinforcements could get there. I couldn’t just kill the angara that were there, especially with how upset and broken Jaal seemed, I couldn’t do that to him” Sara said softly.

“I understand, you were in a difficult position and you had to make a call. You chose to save the people who were immediately in front of you. I can’t blame you for that” Tiran wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave a little squeeze, hoping to give her a little comfort at least, “Your goal was to get the moshae, and you did that. No matter what else happened you accomplished your goal and no one on your team died, that’s a huge success”.

“Yeah” she said softly into her drink as she quickly downed half of it.

“So who exactly is the moshae?” asked Tiran as he sipped his drink, hoping to change the subject a bit.

“She’s a scholar, pretty much the angara’s top scholar. Everyone loves her, like she might be the most important person to the angara” said Sara.

“Wow, that’s great that you got her back! The angara must be so relieved, surely they trust you now” Tiran smiled.

“I guess, but the resistance leader is pissed that I didn’t blow up the kett base. He was acting like it didn’t even matter that I got the moshae back!” Sara said, raising her voice.

“All that matters is that you did what you needed to you. The resistance leader sounds insufferable anyways” he said.

“He is. His name is Evfra and I'm pretty sure he hates me” she said.

“I doubt he hates you, you brought the moshae back” Tiran said.

Sara finished off her second drink, he face was starting to turn pink, “Yeah, I suppose”.

“Hopefully you won't have to deal with him more than absolutely necessary” he said. Tiran removed his arm from Sara’s shoulders and leaned forward to retrieve something from under the coffee table. It was a large gray blanket that he quickly tossed over his legs. “Sorry, Tann insists on keeping the Nexus pretty cool to conserve power. Turians don't like the cold”.

“That's alright, but you're sharing that blanket, I don't like the cold either” Sara smiled as she tugged the side of the blanket onto her lap.

“Of course, more than enough room for two” he smiled and moved closer to make sure Sara had enough of the blanket to cover up with.

“So what's a good temperature for a turian then?” Sara asked as she poured herself another drink.

“Like 80°F or so” answered Tiran.

“And my crew complains it's too hot when it's 75°F on the ship” smirked Sara.

“What I wouldn't give for Tann to raise the temperature around here to 75” Tiran said as he worked on his drink, “It’s 68 in here. Not a good turian temperature. No natural insulation and a high internal temperature, the only threat to my life is possibly freezing to death here”.

Sara laughed, “Now you're just being dramatic”.

“No” whined Tiran, “Turians run around 107° or 108°, that's like 10 degrees warmer than you. And any heat we generate just radiates away to keep us cool. See? Feel my arm” he said, reaching out his arm.

Even though the sleeve of his undersuit he felt like a radiator. “You're so warm, how can you even be cold?” asked Sara.

“Because Palaven is hot, you don't want to retain body heat there” he said. He felt his face heating up, maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was because Sara still was holding onto his arm. Either way a certain level of comfort had settled in his chest.

“You'd be such a good cuddle buddy,” Sara smiled, “I could have used you on Voeld for sure”.

Tiran was not sure, but it seemed like Sara might have been flirting with him. Something about that made his heart beat a bit quicker and his stomach do flips, but humans were friendly in general and Sara was tipsy. “Is that the ice planet? Because there's literally not a single reason I'd ever step foot on that planet”.

“Even if the Pathfinder asked you to?” teased Sara. Her face was red and her eyes were a bit unfocused, clearly starting to move past tipsy and she sipped her fourth drink.

“For the Pathfinder? Nope. But for Sara? I suppose I could make an appearance” Tiran said with a smile.

Sara buried her face into his shoulder and was giggling. 

“And what's so funny?” asked Tiran as he lifted her face off of him so he could see her.

“Nothing,” she giggled, “but you are pretty good looking”.

“Alright, you're drunk and don't know what you're saying anymore” Tiran rolled his eyes. 

“No, I'm stating a fact, you are very handsome” she was giggling and leaning in closer.

“And you are very drunk. Why don't we find a movie or sometime to watch before you drunkenly fall down the rabbit hole?” suggested Tiran, hoping to distract Sara before she said or did anything too stupid.  _ Why can't you be sober and doing this?  _ Tiran wondered. He wanted to pull her closer and joke and tease her the same way, but he doubted that sober Sara would have liked that.

Sara had nestled herself tightly against his side while he had been lost in thought. “You're so warm” she smiled.

“And you're still so drunk” Tiran said as he moved his arm off of where Sara had managed to drape it over her shoulder and instead pulled up the interface of his omni tool to see what movies the Initiative had archived. “Alright, what types of movies do you like? We’ve got a little bit of everything and none of it’s good- Fleet and Flotilla? Of all the things to bring why that one?”

“Hey! It's a classic!” Sara said between hiccups.

“It's cheesy and terrible, we’re not watching it” said Tiran, “And when did you refill your drink?” he quickly grabbed the glass out of Sara’s hand. “You're done”.

“You're no fun” Sara pouted, “We’re absolutely watching Fleet and Flotilla now”.

“Will you stop drinking if we watch it?” he asked.

“Promise” she said.

“Fine, we’ll watch it” Tiran grumbled as he pulled the movie up on the monitor on the wall.

That seemed to placate Sara for the moment, she settled back down onto the couch and pulled the blanket up a bit higher and went back to leaning back on him.

The movie was every bit as cheesy as Tiran had remembered it, complete with terrible monologues and poor communication between characters what eventually led to their downfalls. Sara did not seem to mind though, hanging onto every word as if it was the most interesting thing she had ever heard and somehow she had managed to get his arm around her shoulder again. Tiran decided it was just easier to let her cuddle up.

It was rather endearing how into the movie she was and Tiran found himself watching Sara more than the movie, she laughed at every lame joke and cried at every overacted dramatic moment or death, it almost made the movie bearable. 

“See? It was good” said Sara as the movie ended.

“No, it was absolutely terrible but you were too drunk to tell” he said.

“It was good” she said again with a smile.

“Whatever you say” he said, he could not help but smile back. It was good to see Sara so happy.

“This is nice” Sara sighed, cuddling up a bit closer to him, “I think it's been about 600 years since I've just spent time with someone like this”.

“Yeah, been a while” Tiran said, feeling his mouth go dry.

“Round two!” Sara happily shouted as she reached for the bottle of rum and took a swig of it right out of the bottle.

“You said that if we watched Fleet and Flotilla you'd stop drinking” he said.

“Yeah, stop during the movie” Sara giggled, “we’re having fun! C’mon Tiran!”

“Oh boy, is it going to be like this all night?” he asked with a smirk.

“Don't be like that, I've had a tiring last few days, I need this” she said.

“That's alright, I'm just glad to see you so happy” he said as he gave her shoulders a little squeeze.

“Hey Tiran” Sara began, her voice suddenly very serious, “Why are you so nice to me? Not that other people aren't nice, but they're nice to Pathfinder me, not actual me”.

“Because everyone needs someone they can talk to, and for whatever reason you've decided that instead of that being your crew that it was going to be me” he said.

“I'm sorry” Sara said softly.

“Don't be sorry, I never said I didn't like it. I like spending time with you, I like the person behind the Pathfinder” he reassured her.

“I like the person behind the militia leader too” she smiled.

“I think your crew would probably like to do something like this sometime too, it would be a good way to bond with them” Tiran suggested.

“I know, they're good people, and this is going to sound terrible but I really don't want people to get attached to me. Like I already technically died once, and that was pretty rough on people” she trailed off.

“And you don't want people to get attached to Sara, just the Pathfinder” finished.

“Yeah,” she said dryly, “And my dad dying hit me a lot harder than I ever thought it would, and we weren't even close. I don't want to lose anyone I'm close to, being Pathfinder kind of increases the odds of people around you dying”.

“So why bother hanging out around me?” he asked.

“I don't know, you offered the first time and it sounded nice. Then I was stressed and you seemed like a good person to talk to. And now we’re here” she said.

“Did you want to be here, or were you just being polite?” asked Tiran, hoping that Sara has not taken up his offer because she felt like she had to.

“I wanted to. It's nice to really be able to talk with someone, and since Tann has you working just on the Nexus I'm not worried about you dying in the field or something, that's kind of comforting” she told him, “I just don't want something to happen to me and it be a distraction to you”.

“You let me worry about that. If anything should happen I'll worry about it then, right now you just need to be able to talk to someone and relax, that's my priority” he smiled.

“Thanks Tiran” she smiled back, “Now let's have some fun!” she laughed as she grabbed the bottle of rum again.

Tiran smirked back at Sara, “Alright, what did you have in mind?”

“Ever played ‘never have I ever?” asked Sara with a big grin.

“I have no clue what that is” he said.

“It's a drinking game, you say ‘never have I ever’ and then you fill it in with something you've never done, and if the other person has done it then they have to take a drink” explained Sara.

“This sounds like a terrible idea” he said.

“It's fun! I'll go first, never have I ever broken a bone” she said.

“So wait, what am I supposed to do? Tiran asked, a bit unsure of the game.

“You take a drink if you've ever broken a bone and then you say something you’ve never done” she explained.

“Oh” he said before picking up the bottle of saarof and taking a drink straight out of the bottle, “Alright, never have I ever made first contact with aliens”.

“That's a cheap shot” Sara grumbled as she took a drink, “Never have I ever drank ryncol”.

“Using my own story against me, that's low” Tiran took another drink, “I'll tell you a secret if you promise not to tell anyone”.

“I promise” giggled Sara.

“That ryncol fucked me up real badly. I've never had anything burn as bad as that ryncol did and I felt like I couldn't breathe, that's why I immediately left the Vortex afterwards. And when I got home I was so sick, I couldn't stand up and I kept throwing up all night, I thought I was going to have to call of medical and explain that I'm a giant idiot and willingly drank ryncol” Tiran admitted.

“And do the fearless militia leader isn't so mighty after all” Sara teased.

“Yeah, yeah, but I didn't die and no one but you has to know how bad it actually was” he said, “So, never have I ever stepped foot on the Citadel”.

Sara took a drink, “I can't remember if I told you that I grew up on there or not” she grumbled, “Never have I ever stepped foot on Palaven”.

“Another cheap shot, colony markings give that one away” Tiran took another drink.

“Good ol’ Palaven blue” Sara smirked.

“Never have I ever gotten so drunk in public that someone had to carry me home” said Tiran.

“That's not fair!” Sara shouted.

“But it’s true, drink” he said.

Tiran was not sure how much time had passed or how much either of them had to drink by the time he was aware that Sara had laid her head on his lap and he had been running his fingers through her hair. It was nice, cozy and almost familiar feeling. No, not familiar but maybe normal feeling, that despite that they were in a new galaxy fighting a new enemy that life could still go on almost like normal.

“You can't just fall asleep like that, I'll feel too bad to move you and then I'll be stuck on this couch too” he said softly as he continued to run his fingers through her hair. It seemed so soft even through his gloves.

“Would that really be so bad though?” asked Sara sheepishly.

“Either of us sleeping like this wouldn't be great” he insisted, “At least sit up so you don't trap me here with you if you fall asleep”.

“Fine” Sara grumbled as she pushed herself upright and then went right back to leaning against his side anyways.

“Well, that really doesn't help” Tiran smirked, “You're determined to not let go, aren't you?”

“You're warm” she giggled as she buried her face into his shoulder.

“You keep saying that” he said, looking down at the little drunken human cuddling against his shoulder.

“Because you're warm and I like it” she repeated.

“Alright, come here” Tiran said as he lifted his arm and wrapped it around her so Sara could rest her head on his chest. “Better?” he asked.

“Yeah” she said. 

They sat cuddled on the couch in a drunken but comfortable silence.  _ She's so happy,  _ Tiran thought as he began to run his fingers through her hair again.  _ Do you know hard you're making this? I want you to be happy, and I'm not too sure what you actually want. _

Tiran felt Sara working her arms around his waist in her attempt to cuddle, which would have been fine had she not decided to keep running her hands along his waist. “Sara, can you not do that?” he asked.

“I thought turians liked that” Sara said playfully with a bit of a drunk hiccup.

“Yeah, that’s the problem” Tiran sighed, very aware that Sara was still tracing circles on his waist.  _ Why do you have to be drunk and doing this? All this flirting and cuddling. Telling me you don't want to be close to people and then all this.  _ Tiran gently placed his hand under Sara’s chin and lifted her face up to face his, “You’re drunk and not thinking, whatever is going through your head can wait until the morning when you're thinking clearly”.

Sara pulled her hands off his waist and her face fell, “Are you mad at me?” she asked quietly.

“I'm not mad at you,” he began and lifted her face back up to his, “But I want you to be happy and that includes not letting you make drunken mistakes”.

“You're a good man, Tiran” she mumbled.

“Thank you” he said as he gently pressed his forehead to hers, a subtle sign of affection that he hoped that she did not know about or that she was drunk enough to not have it register. “You need to sleep though. You've had a rough few days and a lot to drink”.

“But I'm not even tired” Sara whined.

“You can barely keep your eyes open, it’s bedtime for you” he gently scooped Sara up and began to carry her to his room.

“I don't want to kick you out of your bed again” she said.

“It's alright, I can sleep on the couch just fine. You've had a long few days, you need the bed way more than I do” he said as he sat Sara down on the side of his bed.

Sara look up at Tiran, her eyes a bit unfocused as she fought back the exhaustion that had finally started to hit her, “Stay with me until I fall asleep?”

Tiran took a deep sigh, she was impossible, “Do you promise you'll go right to sleep?”

“Yes” she said with an enthusiastic smile.

“Alright, I'll sit right here until you fall asleep then” he said.

She made herself right at home, quickly working her way under the blanket and snuggling in for the night, “Give me your hand” she told Tiran.

Tiran reached out a gloved hand for Sara which she quickly grabbed onto. “Is this your plan to keep me here?” he asked, only half joking.

“It's just nice to fall asleep with someone” she said.

“Get some rest, I'm right here with you” he reassured her.

It was not long before Sara was fast asleep. Tiran watched her chest rise and fall slowly and how her eyes darted about under her eyelids. “You are absolutely impossible” he whispered. He freed his hand from her grasp and ran it through her hair one last time before pressing his forehead against hers again, “I'm glad you can be happy around me. Sleep well Sara”.

* * *

 

Sara woke up once more in Tiran’s bed, at least it was not a surprise this time. Her head was spinning, but it was not as bad as it probably should have been considering how much she had drank.

A soft smile crept across her face, despite the hangover it was still the best she had felt in quite a while. She began to try to remember as much as she could from the previous night, just sitting and drinking, watching a movie, playing a silly game, it had been nice to just unwind.  _ I flirted with him _ , Sara recalled with some embarrassment. She really had not intended to, but it was so nice to just cuddle up on the couch together, she could not help but get a little playful with him.  _ I was touching his waist!  _ she recalled with a bit of panic. Words were one thing, getting intimately handsy was another.

“Oh god,” she said softly, a bit mortified of how she acted, “He just wanted to cheer me up and now he probably thinks I was just interested in sleeping with him or something” Sara panicked as she continued to leap to every extreme and unlikely possibility. “It's alright, it's alright,” she told herself, “He didn't do anything, he tucked you into bed and sat with you until you fell asleep, he's knows you were drunk and not thinking, all he did was that forehead thing.

The forehead thing. Sara did not know exactly what it was called or what it meant, but she had seen quite a few turian couple doing it, it always looked so cozy and intimate and rather loving. “Shit” she hissed, “People close to you are bad” she told herself, “This is literally the last thing either of you needs”.

She quickly made a beeline to the door of Tiran’s apartment, hoping he was still asleep as she made her escape. Unfortunately for her, he was awake. 

He looked tired as he stood in the tiny kitchen waiting for the coffee pot to finish up, “Good morning,” he smiled, “don't know if you had time to run any dextro tests, but there's coffee if you want any”.

“No, I'm g- it's alright. I've got to go” she rushed out as she looked for where she left her shoes.

“Are you alright?” he asked, confused why Sara was acting so off.

“Yeah, I just- I need to leave” she answered as she yanked her shoes on.

“Sara, if I did something wrong or you're upset please tell me” Tiran crossed the room to place himself in between Sara and the door, he had no intention of keeping her there if she wanted to leave, but he was hoping that she would at least tell him what was bothering her.

She took a few steps towards him, towards the door, but made no attempt to go around him of move him.

“Sara, please” he said softly and reached his hand out to run his fingers through her hair.

Sara remained wordless, brushing his hand aside as she looked down at feet, unwilling to meet his gaze or check to see if he looked hurt. A burn built in her chest, a dull ache. It had felt nice last nice when he played with her hair and hugged onto her, it was comfortable and gentle without any sort of expectations.  _ He cares about you,  _ echoed a small voice in her mind,  _ Yeah and that's the damn problem,  _ came a louder voice.

“Sara, please” he said again.

Sara could heard the hurt creeping into his voice.  _ All he did to just try to make me happy, just to be friends and give me someone to talk to, and I had to flirt and lead him on,  _ she told herself, feeling the ache in her chest build.  _ He didn't want anything from you and you fucked it up,  _ she told herself.

“Sara” he said, his voice a soft whisper, “Please at least look at me, I'm worried-” 

Sara batted away his hand as he tried to lift he chin up to she her face. “I have to leave” she choked out as she pushed him aside and darted out the door.

“Sara” he said hoarsely as all he could do was watch her go.


End file.
